Prieto, Americas cut down Bulldogs

Published 7:36 pm, Saturday, May 12, 2012

VAN HORN -- Midland High was close to figuring out El Paso Americas ace Anthony Prieto in Game 2 of a Class 5A area round series Saturday.

Yet, protecting a four-run lead in the fifth, Prieto worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam, ending the biggest Bulldog threat in a 6-0 win at Van Horn High School.

The win completed a sweep of the Bulldogs for Americas, which moves on to face district rival El Paso Montwood in the regional quarterfinal.

"(Prieto)'s a good pitcher obviously," Midland High coach Barry Russell said. "He's everything he's been talked about ... he pretty much just wore us out."

Prieto, a Howard College signee and MLB prospect, pitched six shutout innings in the win, allowing four hits while striking out nine and walking two.

Bulldog starter Will Taylor pitched a complete game in his final start for Midland High, striking out nine Trail Blazers in the loss.

Taylor got off to a fast start, retiring the side in order in the first and starting the second with his second strikeout in a row.

But a walk and an error gave Americas its first two base runners and its first bit of momentum in the game.

Taylor fanned the next batter, Jorge Mora, but walked the following batter, Matt Carrillo to load the bases.

Joey Galindo then went to a full count and fouled off two pitches before Taylor walked him, scoring the first run of the game.

The frustration continued with the next batter, Jimmy Cubillos, as Taylor walked him in five pitches to score another run.

Taylor retired the next batter, but the damage was done, as Americas now had a 2-0 lead without having a hit in the game.

"For us to go further, we can't beat ourselves," Russell said. "And we kicked ourselves in the butt the whole day -- (Game 1 was) the same way."

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs continued to have a hard time figuring out Prieto, who didn't allow a base runner until the third inning and didn't allow a hit until the fourth.

"I felt good right off the bat," said Prieto, who was starting for the first time this postseason. "I haven't felt that good in a while."

Even when Lance White got a blooper to fall for the Bulldogs' first hit, the joy was short-lived as he was thrown out at second after trying to advance.

Still up 2-0, Americas came to life again with two straight singles with two away in the top of the fifth. Mora then slapped an RBI single to left to add another run to the Blazers' lead.

Two batters later, Taylor was called for a balk with the bases loaded, pushing the Americas lead to 4-0.

Midland High seemed poised to respond in the bottom of the frame, which Alex Mata led off with a double into the gap in right. Two batters later, Brent Stewart singled to right, then Prieto walked Wade to load the bases.

With the Bulldog dugout and crowd coming to life, Ryan Whittenberg battled back from 0-2 to a full count. But on the next pitch, Carrillo fielded a grounder to third, stepped on the bag and whipped it to first to end the inning with a 5-3 double play.

"It just felt good. (Carrillo)'s my little cousin actually," Prieto said smiling. "I would have beat him up if he didn't turn (the double play).

For Midland High, it was symbolic of the way the entire series had gone.

The missed opportunity came back to haunt the Bulldogs in the top of the sixth, when Americas scored twice on an RBI double by Alex Medina and an RBI single by Orlando Garcia. Both runs came with two outs and essentially put the game away for Americas.

Midland High ends its season at 22-12 after winning its second District 3-5A title in as many years. For Russell, it was an emotional farewell to a small but beloved senior class, one that he hopes his underclassmen learned a lot from this season.

"I hope that for the underclassmen, they realize how tough this is on these guys -- I hope we learned something this year," Russell said. "A district championship's great, but all in all, we want to go further in life than this. But it's been a good year."